What Is A Dropper Post & WHY should I Want One?
These are dropper seatposts. They are not suspension seatposts, which I love (I am told suspension dropper posts do exist). You flip a lever and your saddle immediately drops down to its lowest setting. Originally, mtb’ers used them to get down low, behind their saddles. My boss Sid uses one on his e-bike just for daily commuting. Every time he comes to a stop, he drops his saddle. He never has to get off! Almost all the benefits of foot forward or recumbent technology, without any of the disadvantages!
Too often I meet older riders that just don’t understand that you should not be able to reach the ground while seated. They hate the idea of getting off their saddle every time they come to a stop,. Unfortunately, that is the only way to get proper leg extension, using all the muscles in your leg, A dropper seat post is a great way to get around this dilemma without the questionable geometry and instability of foot forward or recumbent tech (frankly, I like foot forward for torque sensing bikes).
I sell these for about $125 installed. I can’t really recommend them for folks much over 200#’s. Sid is 6’7″ and close to 300 (all muscle, makes me sick). He wore one out in just one season. He is the only person I have heard of that has actually broken one of these.
In particular, I see a lot of smaller women, with heavy bikes, that could really use one of these (a lot of beginner riders too). It is hard for them to control their bike coming to a stop or just to get going. A dropper seatpost could be just what they need to feel more comfortable and confident (it sure bests buying yet another e-bike). If you use a dropper post or better still, a suspension dropper post, please give us some feed back.